2022 Winter Olympics
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The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXIV Olympic Winter Games (French: Les XXIVeme Jeux olympiques d'hiver [1]) (Chinese: 第二十四届冬季奥林匹克运动会; pinyin: Dì Èrshísì Jiè Dōngjì Àolínpǐkè Yùndònghuì), and commonly known as Beijing 2022, is a multi-sport event that will take place in Beijing and towns in neighboring Hebei province from 4 to 20 February 2022.[2] It will be the third consecutive Olympic Games held in East Asia, after Pyeongchang 2018 and Tokyo 2020. Having previously hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing will become the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics. It will also become the largest city ever to host the Winter Olympics, a distinction currently held by Vancouver, which hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics.
As well, it will become the first Olympic Winter Games ever to be held in China. The estimated budget of the games is $3.9 billion, less than one-tenth of the $43 billion spent on the 2008 Summer Olympics.[3] Beijing will also be the fourth East Asian city host the Winter Games after Sapporo, Japan (1972), Nagano, Japan (1998), and Pyeongchang, South Korea (2018)
Bidding
The bidding calendar was announced by the IOC in October 2012, with the application deadline set for 14 November 2013. The IOC Executive Board reviewed the bids from all applicant cities on 7 July 2014, and selected Oslo (Norway), Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Beijing (China) as the final candidate cities. Oslo withdrew its bid on 1 October 2014, leaving Almaty and Beijing as the 2 remaining candidates. Beijing was selected as host city of the 2022 Winter Olympics after beating Almaty by 4 votes, on 31 July 2015, at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Voting results
| 2022 Winter Olympics bidding results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Nation | Votes | ||||
| Beijing |  China
|
44 | ||||
| Almaty |  Kazakhstan
|
40 | ||||
Venues
The Beijing Olympic Games Bidding Committee unveiled the venue plan for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games on 20 February 2014: five ice events will be held at the Olympic center, the Capital Indoor Stadium and the Beijing Wukesong Sports Center, which were some of the main venues of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Competitions for luge, bobsleigh and alpine skiing will be held in Xiaohaituo Mountain area in Yanqing northwest of Beijing, 90 kilometres (56 miles) away from the city center using artificial snow given the rarity of natural snow in this region [4][5] All other skiing events will be held in Taizicheng Area in Chongli, Zhangjiakou, 220 km (140 mi) from downtown Beijing and 130 km (81 mi) away from Xiaohaituo Mountain Area.[6]
Beijing Cluster
- Olympic Green venues
- Beijing National Aquatics Center – curling / 4,000 existing/renovated
- Beijing National Indoor Stadium – ice hockey / 18,000 existing
- Beijing National Stadium – opening and closing ceremonies / 80,000 existing
- Beijing Olympic Village
- National Speed Skating Oval – speed skating / 12,000 new
- China National Convention Center – MPC/IBC / existing
- Other venues
- Capital Indoor Stadium – figure skating, short track speed skating / 15,000 existing
- Wukesong Sports Centre – ice hockey / 10,000 existing
Yanqing Cluster
- Xiaohaituo Alpine Skiing Field – alpine skiing 15,000
- Xiaohaituo Bobsleigh and Luge Track – bobsleigh, luge, skeleton / 5,000 new
- Yanqing MMC: Media Center
- Yanqing Olympic Village / new
Chongli
The town of Chongli in Hebei province will stage most of the skiing events during the 2022 Winter Olympics. The ski resort has earned over 1.54 billion yuan (237.77 million U.S. dollars) in tourism from the 2015–2016 snow season for a 31.6 percent growth over the previous season. In 2016 it was announced that Chongli has received 2.185 million tourists for an increase of 30 percent during the first snow season after the winning the Olympic bid. The snow season lasted for five months from November, during which Chongli has hosted 36 competitions and activities, such as Far East Cup and Children Skiing International Festival. A total of 23 skiing camps have also been set up, attracting the participation of 3,800 youths. All venue construction will start in November 2016 and will be finished by the end of 2020 to enable the city to hold test events.[7]
Zhangjiakou Cluster
- Kuyangshu Biathlon Field – cross-country skiing, Nordic combined (cross-country skiing) 15,000
- Kuyangshu Ski Jumping Field – ski jumping, Nordic combined (ski jumping) 10,000
- Hualindong Ski Resort – biathlon 15,000
- Genting Hotel – Media Center
- Genting Ski Resort – snowboarding (slopestyle, halfpipe), freestyle skiing 5,000
- Taiwu Ski Resort – snowboarding (cross), freestyle skiing 10,000
- Wanlong Ski Resort – snowboarding (parallel slalom) 5,000
- Zhangjiakou Olympic Village new
Transport
The new Beijing-Zhangjiakou Intercity Railway will be built, starting from Beijing North Railway Station, and terminating at Zhangjiakou South Railway Station. It will be built for speeds up to 350 km/h (217 mph), and travel from Beijing to Zhangjiakou is estimated to take 50 minutes.
The Beijing Subway is expected to continue expanding and projected to have at least 24 lines by 2022. Expressway and highway networks are also expected to be upgraded.
A new second airport for Beijing and the region, tentatively known as Beijing Daxing International Airport, is expected to open by 2019.
- The Zhangjiakou Cluster is about 160 km from Beijing and is located in a different province, Hebei.
- The Yanqing Cluster is about 85 km from Beijing
Sports
Fifteen sports are scheduled in the 2022 Winter Olympics program. Skating will include three disciplines – figure skating, speed skating and short track speed skating – while skiing will be represented by six disciplines – alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping and snowboarding. Bobsleigh events will be contested in both bobsleigh and skeleton disciplines. The remaining four sports are biathlon, curling, ice hockey and luge.
Broadcasting
Broadcast rights to the 2022 Winter Olympics in some countries were already sold as part of long-term broadcast rights deals. In France and the United Kingdom, the 2022 Winter Olympics will be the first that are subject to the exclusive pan-European rights held by Discovery Communications that last between 2018 and 2024. In the United Kingdom, to comply with anti-siphoning laws, Discovery will be required to sub-license coverage to a terrestrial network, such as former rightsholder BBC.[8]
- Asia – Dentsu (Rights to be sold to local broadcaster)[9]
Brazil – Grupo Globo[10]
Canada – CBC/Radio-Canada, TSN, RDS[11][12]
China – CCTV[13]
Europe – Discovery Communications, Eurosport[14]
Hungary – MTVA[15]
Japan – Japan Consortium[16]- MENA – beIN Sports[17]
New Zealand – Sky Television[18]
North Korea – SBS[19]- Oceania – Sky Television[18]
South Korea – SBS[19]
United States – NBC[20]
United Kingdom – BBC[21]
Concerns and controversies
Several cities withdrew their applications during the bidding process, citing the high costs or the lack of local support to host the 2022 games, leaving Almaty and Beijing as the only candidate cities by 1 October 2014.[22]
The decision to bid for the Olympics was controversial in China (and outside) because Beijing itself, and especially some of the proposed outdoor venues, do not have reliable snowfall in winter for snow sports. Concerns have been raised that snow may need to be transported to the venues at great cost and with uncertain environmental consequences.[23][24]
The environmental impact of hosting the games near Beijing has been questioned. Some of the proposed venues will be adjacent to the Beijing Songshan National Nature Reserve and part of the same mountain system, and the environmental impact on the nature reserve of construction, and artificially covering parts of the mountain with snow, is uncertain.[25][26] The Chinese government responded to these concerns by expanding the adjacent Beijing Songshan National Nature Reserve by 31% of its original size.[27]
See also
- 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing
- 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in China
- 2022 Winter Paralympics
- 2022 Asian Games
References
- ^ "French and English are the official languages for the Olympic Games.", [1].(..)
- ^ "Beijing to host 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- ^ "Beijing won't have a big budget for the 2022 Winter Olympics". CNNMoney.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (31 July 2015). "Beijing promises to overcome lack of snow for 2022 Winter Olympics". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ Mills, Chris (1 August 2015). "Here's the 2022 Winter Olympics Venue, In The Middle of Winter". Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "Beijing announces gym layout for 2022 Winter Olympics". People's Daily Online. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ gaiazhang. "Beijing 2022 Games Ski Venue Receives Over 2 Million Tourists".
- ^ "BBC dealt another blow after losing control of TV rights for Olympics". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ^ "IOC awards 2018–2024 broadcast rights in Asia". International Olympic Committee. Olympic.org. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ "IOC reaches agreement for broadcast rights in Brazil with Grupo Globo through to 2032". International Olympic Committee. Olympic.org. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ^ "IOC awards 2022-2024 broadcast rights in Canada to CBC/Radio-Canada". International Olympic Committee. Olympic.org. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ^ "TSN, RDS to broadcast 2022 and 2024 Olympic Games". TSN. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
- ^ "IOC awards 2018–2024 broadcast rights in China". International Olympic Committee. Olympic.org. 4 December 2014. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
- ^ "IOC awards all TV and multiplatform broadcast rights in Europe to Discovery and Eurosport for 2018–2024 Olympic Games". International Olympic Committee. Olympic.org. 29 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ "Hungarian Public Television Agrees Deal To Broadcast Summer And Winter Olympics Until 2024". Hungary today. hungarytoday.hu. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- ^ "IOC awards 2018–2024 broadcast rights in Japan". International Olympic Committee. Olympic.org. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ "IOC awards 2018–2024 broadcast rights in Middle East and North Africa". International Olympic Committee. Olympic.org. 27 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
- ^ a b "IOC awards 2018-2024 broadcast rights in New Zealand and Pacific Island Territories". Olympic.org. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ^ a b "IOC awards SBS broadcast rights for 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 Olympic Games". Olympic.org. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
- ^ "IOC awards Olympic Games broadcast rights to NBCUniversal through to 2032". Olympic.org. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
- ^ "Olympics: BBC to broadcast every Games up to and including 2024". BBC Sport. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ Abend, Lisa (3 October 2014). "Why Nobody Wants to Host the 2022 Winter Olympics". time.com. Time (magazine). Retrieved 19 September 2015.
- ^ Matt Schiavenza, "A Winter Olympics in a City Without Snow", The Atlantic, 31 July 2015
- ^ Tom Phillips, "Beijing promises to overcome lack of snow for 2022 Winter Olympics", The Guardian, 31 July 2015
- ^ "Scientists Question Environmental Impact of China's Winter Olympics", New York Times, 9 April 2015
- ^ "Winter Olympic Games venues in China 'pose threat to Beijing nature reserve'", South China Morning Post, 4 August 2015
- ^ "2022 Beijing Winter Olympics". birdingbeijing.com. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
